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| Bluefin Tuna Belly Soup with Leek, Potato & a Hint of Sambuca with Handmade Bread |
This soup leans on a classic leek‑and‑potato base, the sort you can make almost without thinking. It’s a practical way to use up the trimmings from a larger fish, and it feels honest — nothing wasted, everything used well.
The Sambuca might raise an eyebrow, but it earns its place. You only need a splash. Its soft licorice note doesn’t make the soup taste like anise; instead, it subtly deepens the flavour of the broth in a way that’s hard to describe until you’ve tried it. It sits alongside the bay leaf and celery, adding quiet sweetness and a herbal edge that works surprisingly well with tuna. If Sambuca isn’t in your liquor cabinet, reach for 6–8 fenugreek seeds instead, they give a similar gentle lift.
What you end up with is a thick, warming soup that tastes like winter and is perfect with my handmade bread. The vegetables give it structure, the tuna belly gives it richness, and the Sambuca adds a small twist that makes people ask what’s in it. It’s a good recipe for days when the weather has closed in and the fire’s on, or when you’re staring at a generous catch and looking for ways to use every part well.
Ingredients
25 g butter
1 dessertspoon plain flour
½ dozen medium potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
1 leek, washed and finely sliced
1 stick celery, finely sliced
About ½ cup grilled tuna belly, flaked
½ cup fish stock (made from leftover skin, bones and offcuts simmered with bay leaves)
2 bay leaves
2–3 tbsp Sambuca (or 6–8 fenugreek seeds as an alternative)
2 cups water, or enough to cover
2 dessertspoons cream or sour cream
Chopped parsley, to serve
Method
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the sliced leek and celery and sauté for several minutes until softened.
Reduce the heat to low and add the potatoes, tuna belly, fish stock, bay leaves, water and Sambuca (or fenugreek). Simmer gently until the potatoes are soft.
Remove the bay leaves, then transfer the mixture to a blender and blitz until smooth.
Stir through the cream or sour cream. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
Serve hot with crusty bread and a sprinkle of chopped parsley.
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